CUP FINAL referee Steve Bennett wants Manchester United and Chelsea to make him anonymous on Saturday with the brilliance of their football.

It's a massive game in a majestic setting, and the 46-year-old Kent official hopes he will be able to stand back and admire the view on and off the pitch.

"It's a great stage for a fantastic advert the world over and I've got to try to manage the event," Bennett told People Sport.

"Sometimes you are forced to step in and I will do if I have to. But I simply see it as red versus blue - and it's their game.

"As long as the players don't take advantage of everybody's understanding of what's at stake, I can take a step back and let them get on with it. Let's hope football is the winner.

"We all have our jobs to do. For all of us it's a pressure-cooker that will bring emotion because of what's at stake.

"It's important we all keep calm and don't over-react.

"I try to go into every game with a clean slate. I simply see coloured shirts with great players inside them.

"Both teams are capable of fantastic football. The only way you notice the personalities is if they become involved in things they don't need to. Then you recognise them for the wrong reasons.

"Hopefully it's just a case of managing and cajoling from me. Then I can stay out of the game. I don't want to get caught up in all the rivalry.

"I have the utmost respect for both managers, who are masters of the game, and for everyone involved. We all want to be successful and someone will be unhappy. Hopefully there's a bit of respect for us - the officials - at the end of the day."

Bennett says that in the knowledge that his every decision will be scrutinised, particulary by those with access to dozens of camera shots from around the ground.

"You can't beat 25 cameras in a stadium," admits Bennett. "We are open to critical comment and ridicule, but you don't see referees firing back. We don't want to be the centre of attention even if we're sometimes forced into it.

"I have only one view from one angle and I appreciate that 22 players and thousands of fans may have a different opinion. Rose-tinted glasses will always be looked through and you'll get the odd outcry.

"It's up to me to get the big decisions right and I have to trust my judgment. Watching replay after replay won't change the decision.

"Just like players, we can't allow ourselves to be affected. How does a striker feel after missing an open goal? If he stays positive he's got more chance of scoring the next one.

"We have to make thousands of decisions in a game. If something goes wrong you have to keep focused to make sure there are not more mistakes.

"Later I'll ask myself if I could get into a better position in future. We don't close our eyes to anything.

"People in most jobs are not continually assessed as we are. Therefore, we have to perform."